What is next for Cardinals and Robert Nkemdiche?

The season ended disappointingly for Arizona Cardinals defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche. After having showing some solid production for the first time in his career, the injury bug caught him and he tore his ACL on Sunday, ending his season.

He is under contract for one more season, but with a recovery time between 8-12 months, his effectiveness for 2019 is very much in doubt.

The Cardinals can exercise a fifth-year contract option, but will have to make that decision by May and it would pay him as one of the better interior defensive linemen in the league.

On one hand, it would make sense to go ahead and exercise that option, as it is only guaranteed for injury and he should be fully recovered by the end of next season. And he is not making the necessary progress, they can still cut him with no financial consequences.

Such a move would be showing a lot of trust in a player who has not been reliable so far in his career. He has suffered a number of minor injuries and now has a major surgery added to his resume. He does not always play consistently within the scheme. But when he is on, there is almost no way to stop him. He has the talent and ability to be as dominant inside as Aaron Donald or Ndamukong Suh.

The Cardinals could also decide not to pick up that option but later offer a contract extension at a lower cost. That might not sit well with Nkemdiche.

Of course, if they just let him go, it would be giving up on yet another first-round pick.

The decision they make with his contract between now and May will tell us all exactly how much they believe in the enigmatic, talented defensive tackle.